Renting an apartment in Barcelona's elegant L'Eixample district is an ideal option for those who want to experience the many different faces of Barcelona. An apartment here puts you in touch with the city's modern culture, creative gastronomy and charming residential life as well as the museums, history and nightlife Barcelona is famous for. L'Eixample is a large district that stretches from Pla?a Catalunya up to the artery-like Avinguda Diagonal, and it's very well-connected to the rest of the city by metro, bus and train. Within 10 minutes you can either be strolling Las Ramblas, gazing at Barcelona's cathedral, or wandering far-flung districts away from the crowds of central Barcelona.

The apartments selfcateringhols.com has available in L'Eixample are scattered throughout the neighbourhood. Choose an apartment in the heart of the district to really live like a local, or rent an apartment near the busy Passeig de Gr?cia to be near Barcelona's famed boutiques. Lined with top-end designer shops, Passeig de Gr?cia has been called the 'Fifth Avenue' of Barcelona.

L'Eixample was built up at the early part of the 20th century, so it's home to most of the city's Modernist (that's the Catalan version of Art Nouveau) buildings. You can follow a long Modernist route through the city, but a good starting place is La Pedrera on Passeig de Gr?cia, an apartment building Antoni Gaud? designed. Not far is another modernist masterpiece: Gaud?'s La Sagrada Familia. Still unfinished, it is the architect's greatest work. Selfcateringhols.com offers an apartment right beside the temple, allowing you to enjoy it up close.